Q2: Blog6

I DID IT!!!!!

That's right, I finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It took me forever, but I'm finally done. So yay!! Now onto my analysis/ opinions on the book.

It would help if you could completely ignore my last post. I was wrong. Oskar's father did die. I guess I knew something was funny and couldn't quite figure out what it was, so I made a slightly ridiculous guess. The 'Thomas Schell' who wrote his name all over the pads of paper at the art store is actually Oskar's grandfather, who has the same name. That makes a lot more sense.

And Oskar's mom knew that he was going to the Blacks' houses. She actually called them before he went over there to warn them. Which explains another thing. I was always curious as to how Oskar's mother never questioned him being out for so long, and why Oskar's french teacher never made a phone call to Oskar's mother wondering why he got a note saying Oskar quit taking french lessons, but he would still be paid. Personally, I would be curious about a situation like that.

As for the key, Oskar found it's owner. Abby Black, who Oskar had talked to second, called to say that the key belonged to her ex-husband. To make a long story short, he had mistakenly sold the blue vase with the key in it to Oskar's dad. So Oskar really had no connection to the key after all, which was disappointing for him.

The book ended with a scene of Oskar and his mother crying together, a sweet ending to a book where Oskar and his mother seem to have no connection to each other, especially concerning Oskar's father's death.

Q2: Blog5

I'm making very slow progress with EL&IC, but progress none the less. I enjoy parts of this book, but when the story transfers into letters sent by grandparents to Oskar, I quickly lose interest. What I especially like, however, is when there is a part of the story that seems to be a mystery, and I get to try to figure it out. For example, there are multiple messages from Oskar's dad the day of 9/11. A new one came up on page 207, his fourth message. He gave small bits of information about what was going on, mentioning some sort of evacuation plan. I have come to the conclusion, however, that Oskar's dad isn't actually dead. I decided this because Oskar's dad's name appeared on the pads that you test pens on at the arts store, after he was supposed to have died. It is possible that someone else wrote it, but I doubt it.

If Oskar's father really isn't dead, then what do the messages mean? And if he really was at the World Trade Center on 9/11, then how did he have time to call and leave four messages? These are all questions that hopefully either I will figure out or the book will explain to me in the next couple of weeks. I'm almost finished, I just need to encourage myself to keep reading.

Q2: Blog4

Wow. It doesn't seem like it's been a week since the last time I blogged. I guess that's what breaks do. I didn't get in quite as much reading as I had hoped over break, but I still got farther into the story. I was sick on Sunday, and after realizing that they was nothing on TV, it was back to EL&IC. I made it to page 208 this week. The part of this section that struck me is when Oskar and his mother are at a psychiatrist. Oskar shares his feelings with the psychiatrist, who seems quite concerned with Oskar's intense feelings. While Oskar's feelings are intense, the part that really surprised me was his suggestion that Oskar should go to a hospital. His mother, of course, refused. Oskar, however, had a good point. After your dad dies in a horrible accident, wouldn't it be more worrying if you didn't have some strong emotions going on. While Oskar is a strange boy with strange feelings, I had always taken his feelings at face level. They change often, and even though they may seem frightening, they aren't strong feelings for Oskar. Oskar quickly goes from having 'heavy boots' to 'light boots' to 'very heavy boots'. I feel like the psychiatrist is overreacting to Oskar's emotions, but then again I may just not be taking Oskar completely serious, he is a bit of a strange character.